At least six people were killed in a US drone attack on a convoy believed to be carrying senior al-Shabab leaders in Somalia.

Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Adow, reporting from Mogadishu on Tuesday, said details of the attack near the coastal town of Barawe on Monday night remained unclear but that the armed group did confirm they had come under attack.

He said reports suggested the convoy was carrying senior leaders.

“They deny that their leader, Abu Zubeyr, whose real name is Ahmed Abdi Godane, was in the convoy, though they have confirmed that their convoy did come under attack,” our correspondent said.

The AP news agency reported on Tuesday that six fighters had been killed in the attack as two vehicles were heading towards the coastal town of Barawe, al-Shabab’s main base, when they were hit.

The US military said it was assessing the results of its attack.

The attack comes days after African Union troops and government forces launched “Operation Indian Ocean”, a major offensive aimed at seizing key ports from the rebels and cutting off key sources of revenue. Al Jazeera